Kimane Ledgister epitomises resilience and fortitude
SHE KNOWS all too well what it feels like to be in need, watching the years of her life move by so quickly while her hopes and dreams take a much longer time to materialise. But yet still she rises. Kimane Ledgister hails from a community that has long been stigmatised as the place that ‘nothing good can come from’, but in her defence, the place does not make the person. The person chooses the path she wishes.
The mother of two said that, from as far back as she can remember, she has had an entrepreneurial mindset, and, the plans to build on this for her future and that of her children.
“In the (latter) part of primary school, throughout junior high school and high school, I started selling sweets and snacks on campus and on the road. I needed to do this because that is how I would get my little money for lunch when none was provided and for other simple things. I grew up with my grandmother, and I remember my mother giving my grandmother lunch money for me, but as I said, there were days when there was no money, so I did what I had to.”
Currently selling packaged food items in the Mandeville Market, Ledgister said tahat, it is her intention to have a shop and to re-establish her chicken-rearing business.
“This is not where I see myself for the rest of my life, but this is what will turn over the money for me in the short term. The plan is for me to go back to school and sit my CSEC subjects as I don’t have any at present.”
She added, “It is because I want a bright future why I have also joined a programme that offers mentorship for women and women in business called Realize, Embrace, Achieve your Purpose (REAP).”
With her first child in primary school and the second soon to start infant school, Ledgister said that she is in the business of making all the sacrifices needed to give them a good life.
“I am a single mother, and I get a little support from my grandmother, but for the most part, I am fully responsible (for them). In the mornings, I drop my daughter at school, get more items to sell, then later in the afternoon, I pick her up and she stays with me in the market until I finish sales for the day. My son is also with me during the day.”
Ledgister says that she believes that one should work for what one wants and be diligent in service to those one loves.
“I am motivated by my children, and it is because of them why I get up every morning. They need to eat, and they need to go to school. I will not stop until I am able to reach where I need to get to for them and for myself,” she ended.